RAN digital small-scale expert meeting - Violent right-wing extremism in the Western Balkans, 07 May 2024

The meeting addressed the current and rising challenges of ethnonationalism and violent right-wing extremism in the Western Balkans. The region transitioned from a strict communist regime to democracy in the early 1990s. This was followed by an ethnonationalist war in the region. With this history of ethnonationalism, war and conflict, mixed with the current geopolitical tensions and Russian influence, the topic is highly relevant and there is a need to further the understanding of the challenges and especially strengthen efforts to prevent radicalisation and advance potential practices to respond to ethnonationalism and violent right-wing extremism. 

A key theme of the meeting was how to challenge the normalisation of violent right-wing extremist narratives. These narratives often adhere to, for example, ethnonationalist tendencies and xenophobic solutions to societal problems. Refugees, migrants and minorities are often blamed for various problems in the narratives of populist and extremist parties, and in some examples, this has been adopted by mainstream politicians. 

An identified need during the meeting was continued support from EU institutions and continued ongoing training and resources in how to identify, prevent and respond to involvement in violent right-wing extremism. 

This paper will describe the highlights of the presentations and the discussions from the meeting, emphasising recommendations moving forward with this delicate and sensitive topic in the Western Balkan region.